Don’t Know How to Lose Weight? Practice These 7 Habits

Losing weight is all about making small changes that you can live with. As you incorporate these adjustments into your lifestyle, you will notice how they can add up to big calorie savings and in losing weight.

Below are 7 habits to help you realize your dream of weight loss into a reality:

7 Habits for Weight Loss

1. Drink Water

Drink water, not soda, iced tea or other beverages. Just plain water.

Consuming enough water is an important part of any conditioning program because it keeps your body functioning in homeostasis and helps every aspect of bodily function. Fit people drink at least 6-8 12-ounce glasses of water daily, plus more as needed during exercise.

Note:
It is possible to drink too much water, which can dilute your body’s electrolytes (such as sodium, potassium, chloride, magnesium). Do not drink more than a gallon per day, unless you are also replenishing your electrolytes.

2. Don’t Skip Breakfast

Eating a breakfast that’s full of lean fiber and protein which will keep you satisfied, therefore will help you make better food choices throughout the day. To maximize the power of breakfast, choose meals that are not loaded with carbohydrate and without anything substantial to keep you full, such as cold cereal, bagels and muffins.

You can try scrambled eggs on whole grain toast, omelet loaded with vegetables or plain Greek yogurt with a cup of your favorite fruit.

3. Exercise Regularly

Try new forms of exercise. You can go dnacing, swim laps at a local pool or play Frisbee. Finding a form of exercise that you really enjoy will make it easier to stick to an exercise routine — and incorporating new types of exercise can keep you challenged and less likely to become bored.

4. Eat Small, But Often

Small but frequent meals are absolutely the only way to go. Why? Because if you wait longer than 3 hours without eating, your levels of the stress hormone cortisol rise. High cortisol levels warns the body to store fat in the abdominal region. Remember that individuals who skip meals have the highest cortisol levels.

Consuming small meals more often reduces your cortisol levels, a study suggests. In a study that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, individuals who ate 6 small meals a day for 2 weeks, as opposed to 3 large meals containing the same total number of calories, lowered their cortisol levels by more than 17%. They have lost belly fat, as well.

5. Get Enough Sleep

Studies showed that inadequate sleep can lead to weight gain. Most individuals need about 8 hours of sleep a night, but there’s a lot of variability — some people may need more, some less. You can tell if you’re getting enough sleep if you wake up feeling refreshed and ready to go, rather than groggy and grouchy.

6. Make Healthy Alternatives

Choose foods that are fewer in fat, calories, sugar and salt is the easiest, and simplest way to lose weight without dieting. For example, you can swap sodas to water, white breads for wholegrain and salted nuts to unsalted nuts.

7. Study Your Eating Habits

Are you eating while you’re cooking, snacking late or finishing your kids’ meals? Take a look at your eating habits and it will be easy to identify some behaviors you can change that will add up to big calorie savings.